Dave Talking with Cerebus from Cerebus #229

MARGARET LISS:

A few years ago I scanned all of Dave Sim's notebooks. He had filled 36 notebooks during the years he created the monthly Cerebus series, covering issues #20 to 300, plus the other side items -- like the Epic stories, posters and prints, convention speeches etc. A total of 3,281 notebook pages detailing his creative process. I never really got the time to study the notebooks when I had them. Just did a quick look, scanned them in and sent them back to Dave as soon as possible. So this regular column is a chance for me to look through those scans and highlight some of the more interesting pages.

Way back in July 2015 in a post called Cool’s Right we saw a couple of pages from Dave Sim’s 26th Cerebus notebook which showed the dialogue between Dave and Cerebus at the end of Rick’s Story. The pages were #44, 46, and 47. I mentioned that the dialogue continued until page 49 and I also mentioned the contents of page 45. 

I figured it is about time we saw those pages. Page 48 picks up the dialogue right where page 47 left of. The dialogue on page 48 starts on page 193 of Rick’s Story, or Cerebus #229 page 7:

Notebook #26, page 48

The dialogue matches up word for word until after Dave’s bit “(interrupting) Thinking.” Cerebus still rants a bit, but some of the verbiage is different, and then Dave’s line “(going along for the ride) All the voices in your head” is left out of the finished page, 194 of Rick’s Story.  We do get to a the missed line about the voices in Cerebus’ head down the bottom of page 194, but instead it is Dave saying “(allow me to wedge myself into his monologue) Nothing to do but listen to all the stupid voices in your head. . .”

In between we get some dialogue that didn’t make it into the notebook, this being part of it: “(trying to restore him to my wavelength) It as the same with me at Peter’s Place. At the time I was convinced that I was. . .” 

The dialogue on page 49 continues the from page 49, but it doesn’t match up precisely with the dialogue on the bottom of page 194 and on 195. This almost ½ page of dialogue appears to have additional dialogue put into it on page 195.  On page 195, it is just Cerebus talking at Dave, and Dave just has one line at the top of the page and at the bottom of the page. 

Notebook #26, page 49

The rest of the dialogue between the two doesn’t make it into the notebook.

And on page 45 of the notebook, a couple of pages before the dialogue is finished, we see a couple of sketches of Cerebus opening up the package that Dave left for Cerebus to find.

Notebook #26, page 45